Part 1 (1/2)
Eleven days in the militia during the war of the rebellion.
by A Militiaman.
INTRODUCTION.
Twenty years have pa.s.sed away since a band of hastily-gathered minute-men left their homes to defend the soil of Pennsylvania from the first threatened invasion of the State by the rebel army under General R.E. Lee. Viewed through the lapse of this long period, crowded as it has been with so many momentous events in the life of the nation, the incidents of that brief and comparatively unimportant campaign begin, nevertheless, from their increasing remoteness, to take upon themselves a degree of historic interest. In respect to both their significance and their adventure, they greatly exceed the occurrences which attended the march of the celebrated Advance Light Brigade to the defence of Philadelphia in the war of 1812-14, in which latter body of citizen soldiery the county of Berks had the honor to be liberally represented.
With many of the partic.i.p.ants in the movements of September, 1862, that minor undertaking comprises the sum total of their personal experience of military service during the entire ordeal of our country's conflict. To them, therefore, the memories of that period of excitement and alarm are invested with a peculiar interest--a sentiment which must to a degree continue to be shared by their descendants. In the belief that a narration of its details may serve to rekindle in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of his surviving companions something of the enthusiasm which they originally inspired, the writer has been encouraged, after the lapse of nearly a generation, to undertake the pleasing and congenial task.
Fidelity to fact is at the least claimed for the present performance, which, devoid as it is of literary pretensions, may nevertheless be deemed not unworthy of an humble place among the contributions to the history of a stirring epoch in the annals of our good old Commonwealth at the trying period of the nation's struggle. The basis of the narrative is a personal journal of the service to which it refers, kept at the time it transpired, the entries in which were dictated by the feelings and impressions of the moment. These impressions, it is to be remembered, were those of a simple civilian--one who felt little interest in the details of military service apart from the cause in which it is undertaken. Yet the relation may, from this very fact, commend itself the more to the friendly regard of his comrades, most of whom were at that period equally inexperienced in the proper discipline of the soldier. On the other hand, should it attract the notice of the veteran, it will doubtless serve to amuse him by comparison with his own experience amidst the greater perils of ”grim-visaged war,” which he is even yet so pardonably fond of recounting.
From what has been already advanced, it will be unnecessary to place any special emphasis upon the disclaimer which it nevertheless remains to make, that any possible object of applause is sought to be a.s.sociated with the expedition which it is purposed to record. Very distinctly is the impression made at the time in the mind of the writer, preserved to the present, that in promptly proceeding to the scene of danger, the Pennsylvania militia were confronted with a more urgent incentive than that which animated the legions of brave men who had already gone forth to face the enemy on the distant battle-fields of the South. Our homes were threatened--the horrors of desolating war seemed likely to be brought to our very doors. The instinct of self-preservation effectually appealed to even the most unpatriotic hearts. No other honorable alternative was left but to go out to meet the hostile invader. Alarms often repeated, by night and by day, suggested the imminence of the danger. Others, with a more deliberate devotion to their country's cause, had volunteered for long periods of service. To fail to rally for the protection of our own firesides, with all their consecrated a.s.sociations, would have been unworthy of the very lowest requirements of patriotism. The most abiding sentiment of those who were called to no severer military duty than the militia campaign of 1862, or that of the following year, must always be a heartfelt appreciation of, and grat.i.tude for, the services of the brave veterans of the War of the Rebellion, to whose heroic deeds we are indebted for the preservation of our liberties, and the blessings of a reunited country.
But, justice to the minute-men of 1862 requires it to be said that, although in the light of subsequent events, the achievements of their brief campaign seem to sink into such comparative insignificance--so marked indeed that the very narration of them appears to savor more of humor than of valor--there were among their number mult.i.tudes who were animated by as warm a patriotism as that which burned in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of their gallant comrades then already at the front--who were as ready as they to lay down their lives in defence of the dearest interests of freemen, and who, had the occasion presented itself, would have done equal honor to their country's service. It is not to be forgotten, moreover, that at the crisis when they marched to the rescue of the State, it could not be foreseen what was to be the issue of their mission, or how great the sacrifice which they might be called upon to make. It was cause for lasting gratification with them that their very presence upon the borders at the juncture when they appeared, and in the numbers in which they came, greatly contributed to encourage their brethren who were then pa.s.sing through the heat and fire of the conflict, as well as to deter the progress of the invading foe. Raw and undisciplined as they undoubtedly were, who can now say that their prompt rendezvous at the centre of military operations did not signally aid the successful efforts of the army to turn backward the march of the enemy after the terrific shock which he received on the memorable field of Antietam?
L.R.
READING, September, 1882.
ELEVEN DAYS IN THE MILITIA.
After the reverses to our arms at the disastrous battles of the Second Bull Run and Centreville, in the latter part of August, 1862, and the retrograde movements of the Union forces in Virginia in consequence, the purpose of the enemy to follow up his advantage by endeavoring to take the Capital, invade the Middle States, and thus strike terror into the hearts of the people of the North, became immediately apparent. In the early part of September, war meetings were being held in Pennsylvania to raise the quota of the State in lieu of the draft then impending, in pursuance of the requisition of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand men. The Reserves had been called away to succor the hard-pressed army of McClellan, and the borders were left wholly unprotected at the inviting season of harvest. As a measure of precaution against the impending danger, Governor Curtin on the 4th of September issued a proclamation recommending the immediate formation of volunteer companies throughout the State, in conformity with existing militia laws, for home defence, and suggesting the closing of all places of business at 3 o'clock P.M. daily, in order to afford due opportunity for drill and preparation. On the next day, Mayor David McKnight of Reading, who was acting in that capacity in the place of Mayor Joel B. Wanner, then in the field as Major of the 128th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, also issued a manifesto, in pursuance of the spirit of the Governor's proclamation, requiring the a.s.semblage of the citizens at certain places designated within their respective wards, for the organization of companies, and also the holding of daily drills from 4 to 6 P.M.
On the 5th, the rebel army under General Lee, comprising a force estimated at eighty thousand infantry, eight thousand cavalry, and one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery, crossed the Potomac at or near the Point of Rocks, and entered Frederick. Among its division commanders were Magruder, Walker, Anderson, A.P. Hill, Stuart, Longstreet, Ewell, and Stonewall Jackson. With the occupation of Maryland, matters reached an alarming crisis, and the imminent danger to Pennsylvania became at once evident. The boldness and celerity of the enemy's movements suggested the necessity for prompt action on the part of the State authorities. On the 10th of September, the Governor, acting under the direction of the President of the United States, issued another proclamation, as Commander-in-Chief of the militia, designated as General Order No. 35, calling on all the able-bodied men of the State to organize for its defence, and be ready to march to Harrisburg at an hour's notice, subject to his order. The companies were directed to be filled in accordance with the army standards of the United States, and as it was stated that the call might be sudden, the officers and men were required to provide themselves with the best arms they could procure, with at least sixty rounds of suitable ammunition, good stout clothing, uniform or otherwise; boots, blankets, and haversacks. The order further stipulated that the organizations would be held in service for such time only as the pressing emergency for the State defence might continue.
On the morning of the 11th, the rebel cavalry under Stuart entered Hagerstown, the southern terminus of the c.u.mberland Valley Railroad, six miles from the Pennsylvania line, the main body being about two-and-a-half miles behind, at Funkstown. The army of McClellan had in the meantime advanced to Poolesville. As soon as this intelligence reached Harrisburg, the Governor at 4 o'clock on the afternoon of that day issued General Order No. 36, calling into immediate service fifty thousand of the freemen of Pennsylvania, under the terms of the proclamation of the previous day, to repel the rebel invasion.
Immediately after the publication of the proclamation of Wednesday, September 10th, the work of forming militia companies in Reading was begun in earnest, the efforts that had been previously made in that direction not having been attended with much practical result. In the evening, the court-house bell was rung, and the building was rapidly filled. Mayor McKnight presided over the meeting. Dispatches were read indicating the approach of the enemy to the borders, and resolutions were adopted to organize companies forthwith in each of the wards.
Many went directly from the meeting to the different places of rendezvous, and enrolled themselves for the State defence. There was not at the time a single full military company in Reading, all the troops enlisted for stated terms of service having already gone to the front. The night was one of much activity and excitement. Drilling was done in Penn Square to the inspiring accompaniment of fife and drum, which gave the town a decidedly warlike appearance. This exercise was continued daily and nightly until the militia had marched, and at no period during the entire war did the military enthusiasm of the people reach a greater height.
In the instruction of the troops, the manual of arms had to be omitted, for there were no guns. Officers had been hastily selected, and the commands in most cases given to experienced soldiers, whose services were in sudden and great demand. The fidelity of the men was accepted without any suggestion of the test of an oath. The companies recruited rapidly, and were not long in filling up to the standard.
Their evolutions, which were conducted to a large extent in the open square, under the cover of darkness, were at times edifying to witness. As the battalions marched with st.u.r.dy tread up and down on either side of the central market-houses, collisions would now and then derange the symmetry of the forces. Frequent resort to unmilitary language on the part of the commanders was necessary to bring up the laggard platoons, and movements were habitually executed for which no precedent could have been found in either Scott or Hardee. But it was patriotism and not tactics that was uppermost in the minds of all, and trifling imperfections of military discipline were, for the moment at least, sunk out of sight in the sense of common danger.
Arms of all kinds were in urgent demand. Rifles and shot-guns, single and double-barreled, old and new; pistols of all designs, long and short, ancient and modern, together with some other uncla.s.sified implements of war, were brought out from their hiding-places, hastily cleaned and put in working order. Some of the men, when equipped for the march, were walking armories of miscellaneous weapons. The hardware stores were invaded in search of powder, shot, and ball. A gum blanket, with which in most cases an army blanket, or in default thereof, a pair of ordinary bed blankets, were rolled up; a haversack of canvas or oil-cloth, hastily put together at the saddler's, a tin cup, knife and fork and spoon, made up the rest of the equipment.
But it was the composition of the forces which lent to them their chief dignity and formed their most notable feature. There was no volunteering by proxy. No one at all able to contemplate military service thought of stopping to suggest the duty of his neighbor. Each felt the personal application of the call, and even to doubt one's fitness for duty was to expose himself to suspicion. All claims of business, public or private responsibilities, or professional or official duty had to yield to the necessities of the hour. Every interest was alike threatened, and no balancing of individual excuses could for a moment be tolerated. The women n.o.bly seconded the appeal to arms, and a.s.sisted in the work of preparation. Personal and social distinctions were levelled, and in response to roll-call there appeared the lawyer, the physician, the preacher, the magistrate, the banker, the merchant, the manufacturer, and the railway official in his multifarious forms, side by side with the humbler civilian--all animated with patriotic zeal in the common cause.
Mayor McKnight, who subsequently himself joined a company named in his honor and commanded by Captain Nathan M. Eisenhower, on the 11th sent William M. Baird, Esq., to Harrisburg to keep the home authorities informed as to the arrangements for the calling out and reception of the Reading militia. On the evening of the 12th, Mr. Baird telegraphed that the companies should hold themselves in readiness to march, and a little later communicated an order from headquarters to Captain Franklin S. Bickley, who was in charge of the first company organized, and the only one then ready, for his command to leave for Harrisburg the next morning by the first train.
This company had its rendezvous in the second story of the building at the southwest corner of Fifth and Was.h.i.+ngton streets. Its roll originally contained 94 names, but the number of men who actually marched was but 64. Sergeant William H. Strickland was left behind to recruit the company up to the standard, and afterwards brought a few additional men to Chambersburg. The commanding officers were all of them men of some experience in military affairs, and proved themselves worthy of their positions. Captain Bickley had been a commissioned officer in the Pennsylvania Reserves; First Lieutenant Lewis H.
Wunder was a veteran of the Mexican War; and Second Lieutenant Charles H. Richards, though never in actual service, had had a long connection with the militia before the war. In the ranks of the company were a few old soldiers, who were generally to be recognized by the coolness of their bearing.
At this point it will be appropriate to give the names of the seven companies which were raised in Reading, or its immediate vicinity, and left in response to the Governor's call, with the dates of marching and their regimental a.s.signments. Several other companies were in course of organization in the city and county, but the emergency had pa.s.sed before they were ready to respond to the call:--
Fifth Ward Guards, Captain F.S. Bickley, 70 men, Company G, 2d Regiment; September 13.
Nicolls Guards, Captain Charles H. Hunter, 104 men, Company E, 11th Regiment; September 15.